MARCH 11th 2013, MarsOne contracted Paragon Space Development Corporation to perform a conceptual design study as the first step towards developing life support and space suits systems. They also acquired a Technical Assistance Agreement from the US state department (required by ITAR).

Quite a number of relevant technical questions were answered. Initial ground testing will commence at an arctic location, similar to the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station. They intend to do crew selection in-house, but everything else, including hardware and production of the tv show, etc, will be done by contractors. There will be eight cargo launches, starting in 2016 and continuing to the first crew flight in 2022.

Watched the $3 54-minute "One Way Astronaut". It could be a $5 product if they didn't pad it with unqualified starry-eyed talking heads. Only two of the four applicants were even remotely qualified to talk about having a chance. One of those had specific skill sets remotely appropriate to the full panoply of rigorous physical and engineering expectations of someone who thinks they will walk on Mars and survive for an entire week. That person also carried the entire weight of self-reflection, clairvoyant sobriety and Faustian consequence. The rest - pfff. I don't believe I'd be able to sit through additional permutations of this with a ratio of 1 actual contender talking head to 3 time-padding talking heads. 2:2, maybe.

SpaceX has updated their website and Falcon Heavy data.Now announce 13200 kg to Mars, but do not give the price. If you give to LEO (from 77.1 to 135 million dollars). Doing the math with 135 (speculation ) I get to 10227 dollars / kg.Considering 300000 or 400000 kg for the habitat, energy and greenhouses, and 30,000 kg for the capsule.300000 * 10227 = 3068100000400000 * 10227 = 4090800000capsule 30t * 10227 = 306 810 000

Highlights:First round of applications is over. Applicants from over 140 countries, but US had the most (24%).

Three rounds of selection to narrow down applicants, those who passed the first round will be notified by the end of this year.

(They state that " Mars One received interest from 202,586 people", but there are 279 pages of videos @ 10 videos per page, so only about 1 in 72 people who started the process actually posted a video. Still, 2781 people should be plenty to choose from...)

Sounds like the "team of Mars One experts" will eliminate in the first round based on how much the applications do not meet up to "Five Key Characteristics of an Astronaut". Any remotely suspect are weeded out. Those above suspicion move on and get to see if their medical condition is good enough. (Sounds like.)http://www.mars-one.com/en/faq-en/21-faq-selection/251-do-i-qualify-to-apply

Mars One announces study contracts for robotic precursor missionPosted: Wed, Dec 11, 2013, 5:40 AM ET (1040 GMT)A Dutch venture that seeks to send humans to Mars next decade on one-way missions announced contracts Tuesday with two major aerospace companies to study mission concepts for a robotic orbiter and lander. Lockheed Martin will examine designs for a robotic lander based on the same platform the company used for the Phoenix lander and upcoming InSight lander spacecraft for NASA. That spacecraft would be a technology demonstration mission and include student-designed experiments. Surrey Satellite Technology Limited will study concepts for a spacecraft placed in synchronous orbit around Mars to relay communications from the lander. Both spacecraft would be launched in 2018. Mars One declined to estimate the cost of the mission or how much it's raised, beyond that it is looking into various partnership and sponsorship opportunities. Mars One received thousands of applications from people interested in going to Mars on its first crewed mission in the 2020s, and plans to announce who made it through the first round of the selection process by the end of the year.

This is few weeks old, but still relevant as there is 22 days for crowdfunding campaign left. $121 000 has already been collected, but there is still some way to go for $400k goal. It is very difficult to evaluate, if Mars One has enough wingpower to fly onto Mars, but I would estimate that they are on reasonable good track, considering that most of the people do not take them seriously.

Mars One - First Private Mars Mission in 2018Mars One will establish a human settlement on Mars. You can participate in the first major step: a private Mars Lander and Satellite mission in 2018.http://igg.me/at/marsone/x/5691149

Mars One, the low-credibility effort to colonize Mars, is at least funding some interesting concept studies for their alleged plan to colonize the red planet. One of the most interesting is the effort to maintain uninterrupted communications with Mars. This is not as trivial as it may sound, as any satellite in Martian orbit will still have to deal with occultations between Mars and Earth due to the Sun. Surrey Satellite Technology will be performing the study.

Two satellites near the horizon but in areostationary orbit (Could also provide 2D GPS if combined with local atomic clock). Another at the Earth-Sun Lagrange point 4 or 5. Done.

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Chris Whoever loves correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

To the maximum extent practicable, the Federal Government shall plan missions to accommodate the space transportation services capabilities of United States commercial providers. US law http://goo.gl/YZYNt0

After six weeks they still were at only 50% of their goal. So now they've added two weeks to raise the other 50% (they're now at $213K out of a $400K goal).

One thing that I wonder about is the terms of their contracts with Surrey and Lockheed Martin. Presumably they paid something up front, with an agreement to pay more for progress and upon delivery. So maybe 25% up front, 50% after two months (or delivery of an interim report) and the remainder upon completion. But does Mars One have enough money on hand to pay the entire cost of the contracts? If I was one of the contractors, I'd really like to know that ahead of time. I wouldn't want to start doing the work and then discover that Mars One lacks money to pay for it because their Indiegogo campaign fell short.

MARCH 11th 2013, MarsOne contracted Paragon Space Development Corporation to perform a conceptual design study as the first step towards developing life support and space suits systems. They also acquired a Technical Assistance Agreement from the US state department (required by ITAR).

They raised a total of $313K, which is a lot more than I expected them to do. According to Lasdorp, that's more money than they raised from private contributions during the past two years. I think that their two study contracts with Surrey and Lockheed Martin are more than $300K total, but they should be able to pay off their contractors.

Of course, building those two spacecraft and launching them is probably going to cost ~$600 million. So now they have to hold another indiegogo campaign to raise... $600 million.

Hold your horses. Let them pay for the Paragon study first. At least an ECLSS that's redundantly safe for a trip to/year on Mars will be useful for all the other organisations that want to get there. IMO, the 2018 mission doesn't get us any closer to an actual manned mission to Mars, even if succesful. Or am I missing something?

Promoting or being involved in a one-way trip to the Red Planet is prohibited in Islam, a fatwa committee under the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment in the UAE has ruled.

“Such a one-way journey poses a real risk to life, and that can never be justified in Islam,” the committee said. “There is a possibility that an individual who travels to planet Mars may not be able to remain alive there, and is more vulnerable to death.”

Whoever opts for this “hazardous trip”, the committee said, is likely to perish for no “righteous reason”, and thus will be liable to a “punishment similar to that of suicide in the Hereafter”.

What a fascinating update. Suicide is against the law in most civilized countries.

The Mars One response is an illuminating example of what I've been calling cognitive infiltration.

Quote from: Mars-One

Do the dangers associated with exploration merit a Fatwa?

And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colors: verily in that are Signs for those who know. (Quran 30: 22)

The Muslim world has a rich tradition of exploration.

The issue is suicide, not exploration.

Quote from: Mars-One

The mission to Mars is a road that has never been walked before, even though the first settlers will be walking in the footsteps of Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo, Neil Armstrong, or any of the other great explorers in history.

Ibn, Marco, and Neil were all as knowledgeable of the exploration dangers as they could be. The organizations which supported their efforts used the highest technology of the time to reduce the risks associated with LOC.

Mars-One makes no credible demonstration that it has considered the forty years or so that the first group of people would live on Mars. As a Buddheo-Christian, I have no moral problem with the unknowns of spending the rest of one's life in a sub-one-gee environment. Until mankind knows what those unknowns are, we shall never get off planet.

The moral issue, for me, is twofold. First, Mars-One owns the life story of those first individuals. Mars-One will retell that story as they see fit and there is to be no independent means of verifying the fidelity of the Mars-One story line.

Secondly, Mars-One has not believably stated that they will provide for the first participants' living needs.

Quote from: Mars-One

It may seem extremely dangerous to send humans to Mars today, but the humans will be preceded by at least eight cargo missions. Robotic unmanned vehicles will prepare the habitable settlement. Water and a breathable atmosphere will be produced inside the habitat and the settlement will be operational for two years, even before the first crew leaves Earth. Each of the cargo missions will land in a system very similar to the human landing capsule. An impressive track record of the landing technology will be established before risking human lives.

]Anybody can write down forward looking statements of no substance. That is what these statements are.

This is a red herring of no value:

Quote from: Mars-One

It should be noted that the moon lander was never test[ed] on the Moon before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed successfully on the Moon.

The devices were thoroughly tested here on Earth as best as could be done. There was a cost with the risk reduction and all this testing. Mars-One continues to be sketchy about cost:

If we may be so bold: the GAIAE should not analyze the risk as they perceive it today. The GAIAE should assess the potential risk for humans as if an unmanned habitable outpost is ready and waiting on Mars.

Just believe.

Quote from: Mars-One

As Ibn Battuta also wrote: "Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller."

Personally, the Mars-One "story" that they are "telling" leaves me "speechless". Believe dat.

I don't see mention of the new reality tv deal here. That's a significant update.

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Chris Whoever loves correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

To the maximum extent practicable, the Federal Government shall plan missions to accommodate the space transportation services capabilities of United States commercial providers. US law http://goo.gl/YZYNt0

It mentions " Mars One is in negotiations with media companies to report on those interviews. Once the television deal is finalized and the interviews begin, the stories of the 705 aspiring Martians will be shared with the world." - so apparently the TV thing isn't very solid yet?

It looks like DSP has done space, science and technology documentaries before (including one on Neil Armstrong) and adventure stuff (mountaineering and sailing...) which suggests that maybe it won't be totally dumbed-down.

Frankfurt, December 2nd, 2016 - Mars One and InFin Innovative Finance AG [FRA:KCC] (“InFin”) are pleased to announce that the InFin shareholders have approved the acquisition of Mars One Ventures PLC (“Mars One Ventures”) by InFin. The acquisition is now only pending approval by the board of Mars One Ventures. The takeover provides a solid path to funding the next steps of Mars One’s mission to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars. Those steps include reducing the remaining 100 astronaut candidates to just 24, as well as continuing the mission design phase with Mars One’s technology suppliers.

In the general assembly meeting earlier today, 18.81% of the InFin shareholders were present in person or by proxy. All shareholders present have voted in favor of the agreement with Mars One. The agreement involves issuing 478,887,500 new shares for purchase of the Mars One Ventures PLC shares, appointing Suzanne Flinkenflögel and Bas Lansdorp to the board and renaming InFin to Mars One Ventures AG. The shareholders have also approved issuing up to 248,497,000 new shares for the capital raise that is currently ongoing.

Professor Moritz Hunzinger, CEO of InFin, says: "The board of InFin has received a strong mandate from its shareholders for the Mars One Ventures takeover. We're looking forward to the exciting new steps that lay ahead."

Bas Lansdorp, CEO and co-founder of Mars One, says “This is a crucial step forward in the acquisition discussions and we’re very pleased with receiving the overwhelming support from the InFin shareholders and the fast pace of the process. The Mars One board will approve the acquisition as soon as possible. Once this deal is completed, we’ll be in a much stronger financial position as we begin the next phase of our mission. Very exciting times!"

About Mars OneMars One aims to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars. Before carefully selected and trained crews will depart to Mars, several unmanned missions will be completed, establishing a habitable settlement waiting for the first astronauts to arrive.

Mars One consists of two entities: the Dutch not-for-profit Mars One Foundation and a British public limited company Mars One Ventures PLC (Mars One Ventures). The Mars One Foundation implements, and manages the mission and owns the mission hardware. It also selects and trains the crews, and is building an ever growing community of experts and supporters that follow the progress of the mission and contribute to it.

Mars One Ventures holds the exclusive monetization rights around the Mars One mission. There are many revenue possibilities around the mission to Mars: merchandise, ads on video content, broadcasting rights, partnerships, Intellectual Property, events, games, apps, and many more.

About InFin Innovative FinanceInFin Innovative Finance AG (Basel, Switzerland) provides innovative services within the scope of financing, setting up, building, acquiring, managing and selling companies and participations in companies at home and abroad as well as holding and managing licenses and patents of all kinds. After the completion of the full takeover of Mars One, the company will trade as "Mars One Ventures AG" and henceforth change its business purpose accordingly.

Amersfoort, December 7, 2016 – Mars One presents an updated mission roadmap, adjusted to its new financial strategy, which involves Mars One listing its commercial activities at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

In the updated Mars One mission roadmap, the first unmanned mission is moved to 2022. The dedicated communications satellite is rescheduled to 2024. The resulting roadmap is as follows:

2022: Unmanned demonstration mission sent to Mars. Mars One will use the same platform design as the 2007 NASA Phoenix mission, and plans to work with the same supplier (Lockheed Martin) 2024: dedicated Mars synchronous Communications satellite sent to Mars 2026: Rover that will select the settlement location sent to Mars 2029: Launch all hardware and a second rover. The two rovers prepare the settlement for the arrival of the manned crew. Life support systems will have produced water and a breathable atmosphere before the first astronauts depart 2031: First crew of four astronauts departs and travels to Mars in approximately 7 months 2032: Landing on Mars of first crew and of the hardware for the second crew 2034: Landing of the second crew and the hardware for third crew

The current astronaut selection and training timeline is as follows:

2017: From the current 100 remaining astronaut candidates in Mars One’s selection process, 3-6 groups of 4 crew members will be selected and hired full time to train for the mission. Additionally, a new application round will be opened. 2018 - 2031: Several crews in training will drop for various reasons and will be replaced by new crews from regular astronaut selection programs 2031: The Mars One Selection Committee will determine the eligible crews to go to Mars. The audience will play an integrated part in the selection: If candidates are equally qualified, the audience will have the decisive vote. Furthermore, they also will get the opportunity to support their favorite group.

Lansdorp: "Mars One can only implement the mission to Mars if we can afford it - and we need investments to get going. Being listed on a stock exchange will make fundraising more straightforward. In order to make Mars One's commercial activities an attractive investment with the potential of a good return on investment, Mars One had to adjust the timing of the planned unmanned and manned missions. This pushes the large expenses associated with the mission hardware back in time, making the company cash positive sooner. The delay we are currently announcing is also because it took us longer to get to this point than we originally anticipated. Of course the whole Mars One team would have preferred to be able to stick to the original schedule, but this new timeline significantly improves our odds of successfully achieving this mission roadmap".

Mars One is currently raising up to €10 million in the first round of funding after the listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. This will provide enough funding to move the mission to Mars forward: award new contracts to suppliers, organize the next round in the astronaut selection process, hire team members with experience in implementing Mars missions, and crew selection and training. Additionally, Mars One Ventures, the commercial arm of Mars One, will build a core team of experienced media professionals to develop the Mars One brand, including by creating captivating media content for audiences around the world.

About Mars One®Mars One aims to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars. Before carefully selected and trained crews will depart to Mars, several unmanned missions will be completed, establishing a habitable settlement waiting for the first astronauts to arrive.

Mars One consists of two entities: the Dutch not-for-profit Mars One Foundation and a British public limited company Mars One Ventures PLC. The Mars One Foundation implements, and manages the mission and owns the mission hardware. It also selects and trains the crews, and is building an ever growing community of experts and supporters that follow the progress of the mission and contribute to it. Mars One Ventures PLC holds the exclusive monetization rights around the Mars One mission. There are many revenue possibilities around the mission to Mars: merchandise, ads on video content, broadcasting rights, partnerships, Intellectual Property, events, games, apps, and many more.

At least they changed their plan slightly, but not nearly enough to account for other developments in the space industry.

Article also mentions they plan to raise about $10 million through stock offerings. Since this is an order of magnitude short of what they'll need in about 2-3 years to pay Lockheed for the lander, I don't think this addresses the main reason for the delay (they can't afford to build hardware.)

Press release from Mars One about their funding and what they intend to do with it this year:

Quote

Mars One: funding enables important steps forward in 2017

Amersfoort, January 5, 2017 - Mars One today confirms its short term mission and business plans for 2017. In December 2016, a €6 million investment from World Stock & Bond Trade Limited was announced of which a first of six equal batches will be received end of January 2017. This will allow Mars One to take the next steps to move the mission to Mars forward, to strengthen its capital and liquidity position, and to boost the exposure and commercial activities. Mars One expects to achieve this by expanding the teams for the Mars One entities with experienced team members: the not-for-profit Mars One Foundation and the publicly trading Mars One Ventures AG [FRA: KCC], ISIN: CH0132106482.

“We’ll add several team members with experience in implementing Mars missions” said Arno Wielders, Mars One’s CTO and Co-founder. “These new team members will help us further shape and manage the technical road map for our mission to Mars. In space development terms, our mission design is currently in Phase A. Completing all conceptual design studies will result in a firm baseline design and improved cost figures. Phase B will be the detailed design of all elements needed to safely land humans on Mars and keep them alive. Completing that development phase will allow Mars One to move the mission forward to Phases C and D: all hardware is built, manufactured, integrated and tested, and finally launched to Mars. That should lead to full system readiness on the surface of Mars, giving the green light for the first crew of four astronauts to start their journey to Mars,” explains Wielders.

The first three conceptual design studies in Mars One’s current mission development phase have been completed by Paragon Space Development Corporation and Lockheed Martin. Suppliers with relevant experience will be contracted to perform conceptual design studies for all other major (sub)-systems required for the permanent settlement mission. These studies demand 500 to 2500 man-hours each leading to a comprehensive technical concept design of the various components of the mission to Mars.

In addition to expanding team on the engineering side of the mission, the Mars One Foundation will hire team members with experience in crew selection and training. Mars One is currently preparing for the next selection rounds to trim down the current group of 100 Round Three astronaut candidates. Up to six groups of four crew members will become full time employees of Mars One to start training for the mission. The design for the next rounds is ready and the next steps are determining the dates and locations, expanding the team of selection and training specialists, and logistics. “New team members will help the Mars One selection committee with the overall progress of the upcoming selection rounds and training, including for example the execution and evaluation of the astronaut selection activities, and guiding the teams,” says Norbert Kraft, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Mars One.

Mars One selection committee members Norbert Kraft, M.D., Prof. Raye Kass, PhD, and James Kass, PhD possess understanding of different cultures as well as many years of experience working with extreme environments, and, of utmost importance, isolated habitats. They have professional experience in the field of Human Spaceflight (Group Dynamics/ Long duration Space Flight/ Medicine/Psychology/ Psycho-physiology) and extensive work with astronauts from JAXA, NASA, CSA, ESA, and RFSA.

The commercial arm of Mars One, Mars One Ventures, is building a core team of experienced media professionals to further develop the Mars One brand and monetize it. The Mars One Ventures team is establishing strong commercial partnerships and generate income from a range of existing and new revenue sources. Together these will provide a strong basis for ongoing value creation. Short term focus areas include:

Creating engaging (video) content. Most notably new media content about Mars One’s Astronaut Selection Round Three and the steps that follow. This will grow and engage Mars One’s audience;

Expanding merchandise sales volumes by broadening the range of Mars One products. Additionally, higher sales volumes are expected to be reached by growing the number of website visitors due to increased interest in Mars One’s mission as a result of the Mars One astronaut selection program and foreseen mission progress;

Bas Lansdorp, CEO and co-founder of Mars One said “Arno and I founded Mars One almost six years ago. With limited funding and a small team we’ve worked very hard to get to the point where we are today. Now with the secured funding, 2017 will be the year where it all starts coming together, and we can finally take those next steps in our mission both the Mars One team and our supporters are eagerly looking forward to.”

Mars One is now offering people the opportunity to purchase shares. Interestingly they say they need to raise €0.5M to meet the conditions for the previously announced €6M investment. More details in the attached ‘brochure’, including a first crewed flight in 2032 (so that date continues to move to the right faster than real time ...).

Mars One is now offering people the opportunity to purchase shares. Interestingly they say they need to raise €0.5M to meet the conditions for the previously announced €6M investment. More details in the attached ‘brochure’, including a first crewed flight in 2032 (so that date continues to move to the right faster than real time ...).

The minimum investment is apparently 1000 euro, or $1192.

They've also published some financial projections. Warning: it's every bit as cringey as you expect.

Today Bas Lansdorp gave a lecture in Bulgaria and answered many questions. The whole event lasted three grueling hours, but I was more than happy to attend.

What's more, I had the chance to interview him and we talked about his plans, his missions to Mars, SpaceX, BFR, Inflatables etc... I need some time to download the interview and transcribe the record. Please, be patient.

In the meantime, check my Twitter channel for the highlights of tonight's lecture:

Okay, so I transcribed my interview with Lansdorp for my Bulgarian website ( space-bg.org ) and there are several important highlights I'd like to point out.

1. Basically Bas Lansdorp confirmed the already known schedule. There are no changes from what we knew in 2016. Robotic mission in 2022. A rover in 2026, cargo in 2029 and the first human mission is still scheduled for 2031.

2. I asked Lansdop whether reusing Phoenix for 2022 is still into the plans. He said yes.

3. Amazingly, there's one thing that I understood during the lecture - it's that there's still no commitment on what rockets to use. Mars One representatives were rather vague - they said they can use any rockets. There's no even firm decision about the first mission. This IMO is quite strange - time is running out.

4. I asked Lansdorp how he would comment that SpaceX doesn't intend to man-rate Falcon Heavy, Red Dragon is being dropped and whether there's a plan to use the BFR, as well as whether heavy lift vehicles are necessary: His answer was: there will be a small space station which will be built into orbit. Heavy launch vehicles are needed to send cargo and the modules of the station, but the crew could be sent with any human-rated vehicle. After the crew arrives and docks to the small station in orbit, then the station could depart to Mars.

5. Concerning inflatatable habitats. I asked him if he's in contact with Bigelow Aerospace. He said they haven't talked to Bigelow. However, he did mention another company - Thin Red Line in Canada. They assume they could be able to work with them.

6. No plans for a reality show on Mars. No Big Brother. But they want to generate content, like - when Neil Armstong was filmed when he stepped down the ladder on the Moon.

Okay, so I transcribed my interview with Lansdorp for my Bulgarian website ( space-bg.org ) and there are several important highlights I'd like to point out.

1. Basically Bas Lansdorp confirmed the already known schedule. There are no changes from what we knew in 2016. Robotic mission in 2022. A rover in 2026, cargo in 2029 and the first human mission is still scheduled for 2031.

2. I asked Lansdop whether reusing Phoenix for 2022 is still into the plans. He said yes.

3. Amazingly, there's one thing that I understood during the lecture - it's that there's still no commitment on what rockets to use. Mars One representatives were rather vague - they said they can use any rockets. There's no even firm decision about the first mission. This IMO is quite strange - time is running out.

4. I asked Lansdorp how he would comment that SpaceX doesn't intend to man-rate Falcon Heavy, Red Dragon is being dropped and whether there's a plan to use the BFR, as well as whether heavy lift vehicles are necessary: His answer was: there will be a small space station which will be built into orbit. Heavy launch vehicles are needed to send cargo and the modules of the station, but the crew could be sent with any human-rated vehicle. After the crew arrives and docks to the small station in orbit, then the station could depart to Mars.

5. Concerning inflatatable habitats. I asked him if he's in contact with Bigelow Aerospace. He said they haven't talked to Bigelow. However, he did mention another company - Thin Red Line in Canada. They assume they could be able to work with them.

6. No plans for a reality show on Mars. No Big Brother. But they want to generate content, like - when Neil Armstong was filmed when he stepped down the ladder on the Moon.

"One bit of advice: it is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree -- make sure you understand the fundamental principles, ie the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to." - Elon Musk"There are lies, damned lies, and launch schedules." - Larry J